📖 Chapter 3 of 10 · Mysterious Space- Basic 1 · Class 5–6
Chapter 3: What Are the Tiny Lights at Night?
What are stars?
The tiny, twinkling lights we see at night are stars. Every star is a giant sun, much like our own. Some are even larger than our Sun. They appear tiny only because they are extremely far away from us.
Why do city children see fewer stars?
When there are many bright lights around us, they hide the fainter light of the stars. High in the mountains or far from city lights, the sky is dark, and we can see thousands of stars clearly.
Story Time — A Thousand Suns Over the Mountain
Tenzin · a village in Sikkim
High in the mountains of Sikkim, where the air is clean and there are almost no city lights, Tenzin stepped outside one night and stopped in wonder. The whole sky was filled with stars, thousands upon thousands, brighter than he had ever seen.
“Ama, please come quickly!” he called. His mother wrapped him in a shawl and sat beside him on the cold step. “So many,” Tenzin whispered. “Who placed them all there? Are they tiny lamps?”
“They are not lamps, and they are not tiny,” his mother said softly. “Each of those little lights is a star — a giant sun, like the one that warms us in the day. Some are even larger than our Sun.”
“But they look so small,” said Tenzin. “They only look small,” she replied, “because they are so very far away. If you travelled your whole life, you could not reach even one of them. That is how far they are.”
“We can see them so clearly here,” she added, “because we are high in the mountains, away from bright city lights. In large cities, the lights hide most of the stars.” Tenzin felt fortunate to live where the sky showed all its treasures.
He tried to count the stars, but there were far too many, and he laughed. Instead, he lay back on the step, wrapped warm in his shawl, and let the thousand giant suns of Sikkim shine down upon him.
Story Time — The Torch on the Terrace
Nisha · Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
In the golden desert city of Jaisalmer, Nisha had a question no one had answered well. “If stars are giant suns, why is our Sun so big while they are so small?” Her elder sister, Ayesha, smiled. “Let me show you, rather than only tell you.”
That evening Ayesha took Nisha to the terrace with a bright torch. She switched it on and held it close to Nisha's face. “That is very bright!” Nisha said, shielding her eyes. Then Ayesha walked far across the terrace, still holding the torch.
“Now, how big is the light?” Ayesha called. “Tiny,” Nisha answered, “like a little star.” Ayesha walked back. “But did the torch change? Did it become smaller?” “No,” said Nisha slowly. “It only looked smaller because it was far away.”
“Exactly,” said Ayesha. “Our Sun is a star that is very close, so it looks huge and bright. The other stars are the same kind of thing — giant suns — but they are so far away that they look like tiny sparks.”
Nisha looked up at the desert sky, now crowded with sparks, and understood at last. Each tiny twinkle was truly an enormous, blazing sun, sending its light across a vast ocean of space to reach her eyes in Jaisalmer.
Solved Examples
Think first, then read the answer.
1. What are the tiny lights we see at night?
Show answer
Answer: They are stars — giant suns, like ours, that are very far away.
2. Why do stars look so tiny?
Show answer
Answer: Because they are extremely far away. Faraway lights always look small, even when they are truly very large.
3. Is our Sun a star too?
Show answer
Answer: Yes. Our Sun is a star. It looks big only because it is the closest one to us.
4. Why could Tenzin see so many stars in Sikkim?
Show answer
Answer: Because he was high in the mountains, away from bright city lights that usually hide the stars.
5. What did Ayesha's torch teach Nisha?
Show answer
Answer: That a bright light looks small when it is far away — just as a giant star looks tiny from the Earth.
Check Your Understanding
A. Fill in the blanks
- Each star is a giant _______.
- Stars look tiny because they are very _______.
- Bright city _______ can hide the stars.
B. Write True or False
- Stars are giant suns. ( ___ )
- Our Sun is a star. ( ___ )
- We can easily count every star. ( ___ )
C. Choose the correct word
- A star is (near / far).
- A star is (small / giant).
- City lights (show / hide) the stars.
D. Think and answer
- How many stars can you see from your home?
- Why are there more stars visible over Sikkim than over a big city?
- Try Ayesha's torch experiment with a friend and describe what you saw.
Check your understanding
Tap an answer to see if it is correct. This is just for fun — nothing is saved.
1. What are the tiny lights at night?
- Lamps
- Stars (faraway suns)
- Birds
Show answer
B. Stars (faraway suns)
2. Why do stars look tiny?
- They are far away
- They are shy
- They are small suns only
Show answer
A. They are far away
3. Is our Sun a star?
- Yes
- No
- Only at night
Show answer
A. Yes